Chapter 2

Juno ordered for a second drink.

Soren noticed even though he told himself he wasn't going to notice anything else about this man, he still noticed immediately.

The bar had filled up slightly since Juno sat down, small groups gathered at tables behind them, low conversations, someone laughing too loud near the entrance but their corner of the bar stayed separate from all of it somehow, like the noise had agreed to keep some distance.

Juno turned on his stool to face Soren fully and comfortably as if they'd known each other long enough for that to be acceptable.

"You know," Juno said, looking at him the way someone looked at something in a museum, "you look like an expensive painting."

Soren kept his eyes straight, "don't."

"I'm just saying," Juno bent his head slightly. "The shirt, the watch, the whole..." he gestured vaguely at all of Soren, "...thing you have going on, it's a lot."

"Are you done?"

"The jawline alone is doing too much honestly."

Soren picked up his glass and said nothing, his jaw tightened slightly but he kept his face completely blank. Juno watched him do it and smiled to himself, turning back to his own drink.

Few minutes passed quietly then Soren felt it.

A light pressure against his ankle, slow and intentional.

He didn't move, he just kept his hand steady on his glass, his eyes fixed on the wall of bottles at the counter and said nothing at all. The pressure moved slightly, Juno's foot moving as casual as anything like he was just getting comfortable on the barstool rungs and not deliberately dismantling a man's composure one inch at a time.

Soren's jaw tightened again.

He felt the fabric of his pants pull uncomfortably at his hips and that irritated him more than anything else in the room.

"So do you live in the city or are you just here for something?" Juno asked. His voice was completely normal like his foot wasn't doing what it was doing.

"That's not your business," Soren said, his voice sounding normal.

"True," Juno took a sip of his pink drink without moving his foot away.

Soren shifted his leg slightly, just a subtle repositioning. Juno's foot followed without missing at all and Soren stared straight as he breathed through his nose slowly.

"You come here a lot?" Juno asked.

"Why."

"The bartender knows your drink without you asking, that means you're either a regular or it's kinda a reputation."

Soren glanced at him just briefly. Juno was pressing his bottom lip between his teeth again and looking at Soren with that same mild curiosity that had no business being as affecting as it was.

"Regular," Soren said and looked away.

"I thought so," Juno nodded. His foot moved in a slow small circle against Soren's ankle and Soren put his glass down on the counter with a little more control than was natural. "Do you always drink alone?"

"I prefer to."

"You preferred to," Juno corrected lightly, "well…before I sat down."

Soren looked at him again, Juno looked him in the eyes without blinking, that small curve at the corner of his lips just sitting there, patient and unbothered.

"You should finish your drink," Soren said.

"I'm on it," Juno lifted his glass slowly and took the longest most unhurried sip in history.

Soren looked at his throat and looked away immediately.

The foot moved a little more firmly against his ankle then moved up slowly to his knees and back to his ankle. Soren's hand on the table curled slightly, he was aware of every point of contact, the person at the table, the cool glass under his fingers and that one small intentional movement on his leg that Juno was maintaining like it cost him nothing.

Because to Juno it clearly did cost nothing. He was sitting there completely relaxed, one elbow on the table, chatting like they were old friends sharing a quiet evening. Meanwhile Soren was thinking of every possible reason this needed to stop and finding out that none of them were moving him off this stool.

He had a room upstairs, he had an early morning, he had every reason to finish his drink, stand up and walk to that elevator alone.

But he still didn't leave.

Juno glanced at him and Soren caught him at that moment. Juno's face was filled with satisfaction before he hid it behind his glass.

Soren looked away first.

Some minutes later, Juno straightened up on his stool and stretched his arms above his head slowly. His foot dropped from Soren's ankle and the absence of it was somehow worse than the presence.

"Okay," Juno said simply.

He drew Alex attention and pointed to his empty glass and then to Soren's. "Both of these please," he pulled out his card before Soren could react.

"You don't need to do that," Soren said.

"I know," Juno tapped his card on the reader Alex held out and slipped it back into his pocket. Then he stood up, straightened his clothes and picked up his phone from the table.

He looked good while standing, Soren noticed that too against his will.

"It was nice not being ignored by you," Juno said.

Soren said nothing.

Juno smiled, he put his phone in his pocket and turned like he was about to walk away. Soren looked back at his drink.

Then Juno leaned down.

Close enough that his mouth was near Soren's ear, close enough that Soren could smell whatever he was wearing, his voice was a little above a whisper.

"Your room or mine, either works for me."

He stepped back.

His face was completely calm, he stood there and waited with his hands in his pockets like he'd just commented on the weather and Soren was free to respond however he liked.

Soren looked at him for long, then he stood up.

He didn't say anything, he just picked up his jacket from the stool, straightened it over his arm and walked toward the elevator. He heard Juno walk beside him very quietly.

The elevator opened, they entered then the doors closed.

When the door to room 3402 closed behind them, the city glittered through the floor to ceiling window and Juno turned around to face Soren in the dark.